When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day by Garrett M. Graff

 

Title: When the Sea Came Alive:  An Oral History of D-Day

Author:  Garrett M. Graff

Narrated by:  Edoardo Ballerini, Garrett M. Graff, full cast

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 19 hours and 42 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you!

Do you like audiobooks?  My friend Laura Hivala got me into reading audiobooks.  I love them.  They make long drives go so much more quickly.  One of my favorite audiobooks from the past few years was The Only Plane in the Sky:  An Oral History September 11, 2001, by Garrett M. Graff.  It was a profound book.  It was a wonderful audiobook experience hearing the oral history told through a cast of characters.  I was excited that author Garrett M. Graff has written a new oral history, this time focusing on D-Day.

In When the Sea Came Alive, Graff has used a wide variety of sources to put together a full comprehensive look at D-Day told through the point of view of those that were there and those that planned the day.  The book starts in the months following up to D-Day and then gives a detailed account of the day and what followed.  D-Day was June 6, 1944, and was the day the allied forces invaded Europe and turned the tide of WWII.  How was such a large military operation able to surprise the Nazis? 

My thoughts on this novel:

·       We listened to this audiobook driving on our vacation this year.  My husband, myself, and my two sons enjoyed it.  My oldest 18-year-old son really likes learning about D-Day and The Longest Day is his favorite movie.

·       It was very effective having the firsthand accounts told by a wide cast of characters.  It gives you a depth for how horrifying it was to be on the ground and how much courage it took for the allied soldiers to push on.

·       I loved the moments of compassion when a soldier passes by and really looks at the enemy.  He noted how young they looked and wondered about the parents or wife waiting for the now dead soldier at home.

·       It was surreal when Lord Lovat marched around with a bagpiper following him on D-Day.

·       The first section was a great lead up to D-Day and the planning involved.  It was very informative.  I also thought it was interesting that African American soldiers found more acceptance in England than they did in the United States.

·       Once the invasion started, the story seemed to unfold in real time through the eyes of the soldiers.  It was intense.

·       Graff did a masterful job of putting all these threads of first-person accounts together to make one compelling narrative.

Overall, When the Sea Came Alive is a compelling narrative and excellent audiobook.  It’s a must read for any fan history or anyone that wants to learn more about one of the most important dates in history.

Laura’s Top Fourteen Books of 2019

I am behind on my top books list for 2019, but better late than never, right? I read a lot of outstanding books this past year and had a hard time narrowing my list down to only the top ten, so instead I am doing a top 14 books of the year.  I also noticed most are historical fiction or historical non-fiction books, you can definitely tell my favorite genre. These books were not necessarily books published in 2019, but they were books I read in 2019.  I did not include books that I was rereading, but only books that I’ve read for the first time. They are only in the order of when I read them through the year of 2019.  Click on the titles for the full review of the book.  And now without further ado, my top ten books of 2019.

The Gown by Jennifer Robson – The Gown was one of the first books I read in 2019 and it was one of the best.  It told the riveting story of the women who made Elizabeth II’s wedding gown and was a great look at the bleakness of life in post WWII era England.  

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – I read The Hate U Give as part of the Kewaunee Library book club and I don’t know if any other book has every prompted so much discussion on race and current news topics.  It was an eye-opening novel that gives you a different perspective.

The Huntress by Kate Quinn – The Huntress was set during and after WWII and told the story of three different women.  One is a daring aviatrix flying bombing raids for Russia, the other is a young girl in post WWII America with suspicions about her Step Mom, and the third is the Step Mom who may be more than she lets on with a secret cruel past in Nazi Germany.

Courting Mr. Lincoln by Louis Bayard – I still keep thinking about this novel.  It was a wonderful book about the relationship between Mary Todd Lincoln, Lincoln, and his best friend, Joshua Speed.  I couldn’t put this book down. I loved that the story framed Lincoln as the enigmatic lead that both Mary and Joshua loved.  The story was told through their point of view.  It reminded me again why Louis Bayard is one of my favorite historical fiction authors.

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom – This non-fiction book was written in the 1970’s and tells Corrie Ten Boom’s story of her family, faith, and survival after being persecuted by the Nazis for helping Jewish people escape.  It was an inspiring read.

 

Refugee by Alan Gratz – This middle grade fiction read should not be missed by adults.  It is set in three different time frames and tells the story of a Jewish boy trying to flee German on a boat to America, a Cuban girl trying to flee Cuba to America, and a boy trying to flee Syria to Germany.  It gives a great understanding to the plight of a refugee and connects the stories wonderfully at the end.  This is a must read.

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See – The Island of Sea Women told a part of history that I sadly knew nothing about.  The Island of JeJu is off the coast of Korea and is a matriarchal society run with its main industry being deep sea diving for fish by the women of the island.  As WWII looms, both Japan and Korea force atrocities on the island that will change their lives forever.  This is an unforgettable story.

 

The Summer Country by Lauren Willig – The Summer Country was another wonderful historical fiction novel that explores race and love.  This was another book I couldn’t put down once I started reading it.  It was a multi-layered Victorian story with a mystery involved.  Set on Barbados, the story dug into what it meant to be a slave and to own slaves in the society.  This novel was a Jane Austen manners novel, mixed with Charlotte Bronte gothic, with a modern look at race relations.  It also includes a Cholera epidemic, which is fitting for this year’s reading.

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham – Midnight in Chernobyl is a fascinating look at what lead up to the incident in Chernobyl and the aftermath.  It is non-fiction, but reads like fiction.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – I loved the mystery, nature, and romance of this novel.  I felt like it was a grown-up version of A Girl of the Limberlost.

The Martian by Andy Weir – Quite simply, The Martian is one of the best science fiction novels I’ve ever read.  The story itself was a fast-paced adventure, and I loved the real science involved.

The Only Plane in the Sky:  An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M.  Graff – The Only Plane in the Sky was the best audiobook I have ever listened to.  It was another book I just couldn’t stop listening to.  It used first person narration to tell the story of 9/11 in real time.  I think this is another must read for all Americans.

They Called Us Enemy byGeorge Takei – My 11-year-old son Daniel and I read this graphic novel together.  I have been a lifelong fan of George Takei loving him in Star Trek and now loving him on social media.  I love that he took the story of his life and has been telling it in person, with a play, and with this graphic novel so that we can take an honest look at our past and see that we did not always treat our citizens right.  Takei’s look at his childhood in the Japanese internment camps is both heartbreaking and eye opening.

The Testaments byMargaret Atwood – I was amazed that Margaret Atwood was able to follow up the unforgettable The Handmaid’s Tale with the Testaments, a novel that continues the story in the world of The Handmaid’s Tale and turns everything you thought you knew upside down.  This was another book that kept me up too late at night.

Other books I loved this year, but didn’t quite make my top 14 included:

• With this Pledge by Tamera Alexander
• Never Caught: The Story of Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
• Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
• The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal
• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• White Elephant by Trish Harnetiaux
• Best. Movie.  Year.  Ever: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen by Brian Raferty

For more top reads from the past, check out my lists from 2018, 2017 & 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007.

What were your favorite books of 2019?

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff

Title: The Only Plane in the Sky:  An Oral History of 9/11

Author: Garrett M. Graff

Read by:  A 45 Person Cast with Holter Graham and the Author

Publisher: Simon & Shuster Audio

Length: Approximately 15 hours and 55 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Shuster Audio.  Thank-you!

On September 11^th, I was a twenty-three-year-old graduate student at Michigan Technological University.  I was teaching a hydraulics lab that morning when my undergraduate research assistant stopped by to tell me a plane had flown into the world trade center.  I thought that was a strange accident.  After the lab ended, I went out in the hallway and noticed a group of students gathered around the TV that usually only showed event slides.  The TV was strangely showing live coverage and the sound was on.  It was then that I knew it was not an accident and that the United States was under attack.

Everyone who was alive on September 11^th has their own personal narrative and remembers exactly where they were and likes to share their story.  I’ve heard so many interesting stories over the years. Author Garrett Graff made the inspired decision to collect the oral narratives of those that survived the day and put them together to make a complex narrative of the story of 9/11.  Narratives include those from the top including George Bush, Laura Bush, Rudy Giuliani down to those that were receiving calls from the people on the planes, rescue responders, those fleeing the scenes, etc. 

As the audiobook unfolded in real time occurrence of events, it gave a comprehensive story of the confusion, horror, and bravery that occurred on 9/11.  I learned a lot that I hadn’t known during 9/11 and the aftermath, and it gave me a lot to think about.  What I really loved and appreciated was through the horror, everyone’s first response was to help other people.  It was uplifting to hear in such a tragic book.  As Mr. Roger’s said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.’”

 I also was fascinated and disturbed at how efficient the secret service was able to get those in power out of DC, but it also seemed not efficient with them being out of direct contact with other decision makers.

Author Garrett Graff stated in the introduction that this book is for the young people who were not alive during 9/11 to understand the chaos and mass confusion at the time.  Now it is standard to have the full searches and security at the airport, but it didn’t use to be that way.  It’s also standard to just expect bad things to happen, but this audiobook really shows the shock and confusion of the day.  No one expected or had ever imagined that a commercial airliner could be used as a weapon.  It’s amazing to think that students who started college this fall might not have been born when 9/11 happened.  This audiobook was a true living history and great tribute to all who lost their lives on that day.

The title comes from a great opening with the narrative of astronaut Frank Culbertson watched the 9/11 attacks take place from the international space station.  As he tried to watch and photograph from space, an eerie scene took place.  He noticed there were no plane contrails at all in the sky over the United States.  There was only one heading north from Florida.  The only plane in the sky was President George W. Bush. 

I loved that the audiobook contained an interview at the end between the author Garrett Graff and the main narrator, Holton Graham.  They both told their 9/11 stories and how this book came to be.  It was fascinating. The entire way this audiobook was put together was inspired.  Having such a large cast to give voice to the different narratives worked wonderfully well.  I couldn’t stop listening to this audiobook.  It was the best audiobook I have ever had the pleasure to listen to or review.  I feel like I can’t really give it enough accolades and I could keep writing about it all day.  I will stop and just say, please listen to this audiobook yourself.  It is an important part of our history.

The Only Plane in the Sky is an engrossing, riveting audio narrative of 9/11.  This is the best audiobook of 2019 and is a “must listen.”

What is your 9/11 story?